Trolley tender



R. G. AVERILL.

TROLLEY TENDER May 28, 1940.

' Filed Jan.

EEX G. AVERILL .4 tier ney Patented May 28, 1940 TROLLEY TENDER Rex G. Averill, Mansfield, Ohio, assignor to The Ohio Brass Company, Mansfield, Ohio, a corporation of New Jersey Application January 17, 1939, Serial No. 251,395

Claims. (Cl. 191--93) My invention relates to trolley tenders in which is combined the principles of a trolley catcher and a trolley retriever. I

One object of my invention is to provide a de- 5 vice which is capable of maintaining the trolley rope slightly taut, to restrain the. trolley pole from rising to a dangerous height when the current collector leaves the wire and to quickly retrieve or lower the trolley pole below the overh Structure by. dr wing in the rope. ator are beyond his control and the mechanism 10 Another object of my invention is to provide provides that before the device can be locked in a trolley tender in which the amount of rope reits set position to retrieve, the spring must be trieved each time will be uniform, that is, the wound to a predetermined diameter. retrieving mechanism may be reset each time to In the preferred embodiment o my invention 15. a predetermined standard. I provide a casing having a back portion I and other objects and advantages of my invention a r mov ble cover 2 held in place by bolts or will be disclosed as I proceed with the descripscrews, etc. The back portion l is p v d w tion of my invention. lugs 3 adapted to fit a holder which in turn is My invention resides in the new d v I secured to a street .car or trolley bus. The reconstruction, combination and relation of the triever s removable from the holder 50 that it .29 various parts hereinafter described and shown ay b u ed on either end of the car as desired. in the drawing accompanying this specification. FiXedly secured to the batik Wall Of e ease I, In'the drawing; is a spindle 4 which has a reduced portion 5 held Fig. 1 is a top view of my invention in partial in any suitable manner as by a transverse pin, section. riveting or welding. Mounted within the rear 25 Fi 2 i a, s ti n tak on th li z.,. of portion of the case I is the retrieving spring 6 Fig, 1 showing the retrieving spring and 9, porhaving o-ne end secured to the side Wall Of the tion of the resetting mechanism. in a retrieved Casing by means of v ts 1 and secured to a collar condition relative to other arts, or sleeve 8 by means of rivets 9. The sleeve 8 has Fig. 3 is a section corresponding to Fig. 2 taken a squared passage therethrough to receive the 3.0. on the line 2-2, of Fig. 1 showing the retrieving end of the shaft H) which is squared to lit the spring and resettingmechanism in a set condip e in t e sleeve 8 so that the members 8 tion for retrieving the trolley rope. and lolwillrotate er Fig. 4 is a rear face view of the retrieving disk AS late! described the Spring 6 s rewound showing the resetting controlgroove. a when the trolley rope is withdrawn from the re- 35 Fi 5 i a, front face i of t retrieving triever and this, of course, retensions the spring 6. i k it i t v dogs t r shown in position ,Mounted upon the central portion of the shaft after the device has retrieved the trolley rope and 4 is a retrieving disk ll Shown also in Figs- 5 the retrieving disk and rope reel are interlocked and The disk has alshaft p j g both 40 f it t ti rearwardly and forwardly of the disk proper. o Fig. 6 is a front face view of the retrieving disk The portion 0 projects a wa v and the p rwith the dogs shown in position to lock th tion I2 projects forwardly and both portions are trieving mechanism in position to retrieve the provided with the bore l3 to receive the shaft 4 trolley rope as soon as the mechanism is tripped p Which the i rotates. by a-flying pole, The disk II is provided with two dogs l4 and 5 Fig. 7 is a view taken on the lines I1 and I5 pivotally mounted at I6 and I1 and inter- 1'- of Fig. l and shows the retrieving disk locked at their adjacent ends to provide movelocked in its set position ready to retrieve the n in unison. trolley rope when tripped and showing the trolley When the dogs l4 and I5 are in the position rope reel free to function to maintain the trolley shown in Fig. 6 also 7) y Will a e 50 rope slightly taut. respectively with the stop lugs l8 and I9, in- My invention comprises an improvement of the tegml Parts Of the casing I, and in which posidevice shown in Larsson Patent 1,923,314, dated tion the dog M will be held against the stop lug August 22, 1933. In the Larsson device the amount l8 by the tens on in th retrievin spring 6 which of reset after the device has retrieved is variable is now in its wound condition and exerting an 55 while in my invention the amount of reset is definite and of a predetermined amount and is not subject to control by the operator.

To bring about my improvement, I make use of the diameter of the retrieving spring when in t a wound and in an unwound condition and these limits are practically constant as the diameter to which the retrieving spring will unwind and the diameter to which it is rewound by the operefiort to rotate the disk II and in turn to rotate the rope reel upon which the rope is wound at the proper time as later described.

The retrieving spring 6 is partially closed off from the front portion of the device by means of a perforated disk 20 held in position to the case I by screws or other suitable means (see Fig. 3). Pivotally mounted upon the casing is an arm 2| shown in its retrieved position in Fig. 2 and a reset position in Fig. 3. The arm 2| is provided with a projecting lug 22 which is adapted to move in the groove 23 when in the position shown in Fig. 3. j

Associated with the arm 2| is a lever 25 pivoted to the case at 26, in like manner as arm 2| is pivoted to the case at 24. The lever 25 has a portion engaging the arm 2| and the spring 21 is pressing the lever 25 about its pivot and in the direction of the arm 2|, the tendency being to move the arm 2| about its pivot 24 from the position shown in Fig. 2 to that shown in Fig. 3.

The lever 25 is provided with a rearwardly projecting lug 28 which overlaps and engages the outer surface of the retrieving spring 5 and through the combined action of the lug 28 pressing against the spring 6 and the spring 2'! the lever 25 moves in unison with the spring 6 as it increases or decreases in diameter and likewise the arm 2| since it is controlled by the lever 25. The spring 29 holds the arm 2| against the end of the lever 25 thereby assuring movement of the arm 2| in unison with that of the lever 25.

In Fig. 2 the retrieving spring 6 is shown in its unwound condition and its diameter is as great as the recess in which it is positioned will permit and the lug 28 engaging the spring 6 has caused the lever 25 to move to one of its extreme positions and the arm2| has followed such movement and the lug 22 has now moved out of the groove 23. The description of the parts just given '(Fig. 2) is that when the device has been tripped and has retrieved or wound the rope upon the reel 30'.

In Fig. 3 the parts just described are shown in their relative positions when the retrieving spring 6 has been rewound to its retrieving capacity as by withdrawing the trolley rope from the reel and rotating the reel, disk and spring. It will be noted that through the action of the spring 2'! and the lug 28, the lever 25 has moved about its pivot 26 and has also moved the arm 2| about its pivot 24. These parts now represent the relative position of the same after the device has been reset and the trolley rope 3|] unwound from the reel 30' thus rewinding the spring 6 and permitting the raising of the trolley pole.

The disk H and reel 30' will be lockedtogether as later explained when the device is retrieving and will therefore rotatetogether in resetting the spring 6 by withdrawing the rope from the reel 30?.

When the disk rotates in the direction of the arrows in Figs. 4 and 5 and with the dogs l4, and I5 in the position shown in Fig. 5, the arm 2| will be moved from. the position shown in Fig.

2 to that shown in Fig. 3 as the spring 6 is re-- wound and after the spring has been rewound a predetermined number of turns the lug 22 on the arm 2| moving outwardly will register with the open end of the groove 23 and further rotation of the reel and disk will finallybring the dogs l4 and i5 to a position where the lug 22 will engage the end 3| of the doglfi, a lug projecting into the path of the groove 23, and force that end of the dog I4 outwardly which in turn If the disk II is now released as by slowly relieving the pull on the rope, the disk will rotate in the opposite direction from the arrows under the action of the spring 6 until the dog 14 engages with the stop l8 on the casing I thus holding the disk against further rotation under action of the spring 5 but biased to further rotation should the dog M be released from its engagement with the stop l8 and the lug 22 will assume the position 22 in Fig. 4. As just described the retrieving spring 6 and retrieving mechanism has been set for a normal operation of the device, excepting that the reel 30" and disk I I are still interlocked for unitary rotation.

In the description just given regarding the resetting of the retriever, the disk II and reel 30 were locked together. In order to automatically lock the retriever disk' I! and reel 30' together to rotate as a unit under action of the spring 6 when the trolley head leaves the trolley wire, to wind in the trolley rope I provide the reel 30-on its rear face with a plurality of centrifug'allyis the case when the trolley head is dewired and centrifugal dogs 32 will be thrown outwardly and one dog will engage thelowerjend 350i the dog H (see Fig. 6) thus raising the end 35 and also that of the coacting dog I 5 therebymoving the dogs to the position shown in Fig. 5. .Thefree end of each dog 32 is provided with a laterally projecting lug 31 which will ride on the outer surface of the short flange 38 when in the thrown out position thus assisting in throwing the' dogs from the position shown in Fig.6, to that shown in Fig. 5 and as the reel continues to rotate very, rapidly the lug 31 will find its way into the pocket 36 before the lug l5 drops sufficiently to. prevent its entrance but should this happen the end of the dog I5 is sloped and the lug 3'! will have no difliculty in entering the pocket 36 where it will be locked against removal until the retriever has been reset. 1

At the instant the dogs l4 and I5 are tripped, as just described, from. the position shown in Fig. 6 with the dog M in engagement with the lug l8 (see Fig. '7) to the position of the dogs I4 and I5 shown in Fig. 5 in which the dog M has been released from engagement with the lug l8, the retrieving spring 6-wi1l come into action and rotate the disk II and reel 30f in unison and gether, the projection 22 on the arm 2| will be,

positionedin the recess 40. It now the trolley rope is withdrawn from the device the reel 30 will be operated as previously explained and the spring 6 gradually rewound or tensioned' and the lug 22 will enter the groove 23 after the diameter of the spring has been reduced to a predetermined size and finally will engage the lug 3| on the end of the dog l4 and which, mightbe said to close the end of the groove 23 and the lug 22 will trip the interlocked dog I4 and dog I5 (see Figs. 4 and 5) and drop through the opening 23 and this will complete the resetting of the retriever after the rope has been slacked off slightly to permit the dog 14 to engage the stop l8 and the lug 22 assume the position 22' (Fig. 4) and a little further slacking of the rope will permit the reel to rotate relative to the disk II in the rope winding direction until the lug 31 drops through the opening M to its normal position (Fig. '7) and permits the rewinding of the rope upon the drum 30' through the action of the slack take up spring 42.

It will be noted that the reel 30' under normal operating conditions is free to rotate upon the portion l2 of the shaft of the retrieving disk H. The reel is formed hollow and mounted within the reel is the slack take up spring 42 which has one end secured to the reel by means of rivets-or otherwise and the other end secured to a support 43 which has a squared end and projects through a'square hole in the cover thus preventing rotation of the support 43 and maintaining the inner end of the spring 42 fixed against rotation.

The spring 42 is of sufficient tension to take up the normal slack in the rope due to the usual rise and fall of the trolley head as it moves along the trolley wire and does not interfere at all with the operation of the retrieving spring 6.

The end of the disk shaft ID being squared and fitting into the squared opening in the collar 8,

it will be apparent that the setting of the disk- Il may have any one of four different angular positions relative to the lug 22, therefore, the open end of the groove 23 will have four diiferent positions relative to the lug 22 and this condition permits changing the amount of rewind of the retrieving spring 6 from its maximum rewind by as much as of a turn of the reel, however in the majority of cases the disk is set so as to give the greatest number of turns of the reel in a rewinding direction. 7

Other means of anchoring the ends of the spring 6 from that shown in Fig. 1 are disclosed in Figs. 3 and '7.

Having described my invention, those skilled in the art will recognize modifications which may be made, therefore, I wish to be limited only by my claims.

I claim:

1. In a trolley tender of the class described provided with a case including a retrieving spring and a holding mechanism to lock the spring in a wound condition, the combination therewith' of means operated by the retrieving spring to control the amount of rewind of the retrieving spring after having retrieved the trolleyrope, the said means comprising a lever pivoted at one end to a pin fixed to the case and having a lug engaging the periphery of the spring, a spring urging the lug forward in constant contact with said spring surface, a second lever pivoted at one end to a pin fixed to the case and movable on its pin by the movement of the first lever and having aprojecting lug to trip the holding mechanism to hold the spring against unwinding after it-has been wound'a predetermined numberof turns, until automatically tripped.

2. In combination with a trolley tender of the class described provided .with a support including a retrieving spring and holding means to lock the spring in a wound condition, of means pivotally mounted on the support and a plurality of lugs associated with the said means, one lug to engage the peripheral surface of the spring and to move the means in unison with and in accordance with the decrease in diameter of the spring as the spring is wound, spring means to yieldingly hold said lug in contact with the aforesaid spring surface, the other lug arranged to trip the hold- 'ing means to its locked condition whereby the spring is locked against unwinding after being wound to a predetermined tension until the said holding mechanism is released.

3. A trolley tender comprising in combination a casing, a reel for a trolley pole rope, a retrieving spring, an intermediate member between the reel and spring and normally connected to one end axis fixed relative to the casing, the last said means arranged to constantly engage the periphery of the spring and to move with the spring in an arc of a circle as the diameter of the spring increases and decreases depending upon whether the spring is being unwound or wound, and pivotally mounted means to transmit said movement to the holding means to set the holding means to its locking position to prevent rotation of the intermediate member after the spring has been wound to a predetermined tension as measured by the diameter of the spring.

4. The combination with a trolley tender comprising a casing, a rope winding reel, a spring connected to the casing to rotate the reel in a rope-winding direction, an intermediate member between the spring and reel and connected to the spring, holding means to lock the member against rotation by the spring and hold the spring in its fully wound condition and to also lock the reel to the member and means on the reel to automatic ally interlock it with the said member upon rapid rotation of the reel in a rope-unwinding direction and to engage and trip the holding means into locking relation with the last said means, of movable means constantly in cooperative relation with the spring and controlled in movement by the change in diameter of the spring as it is wound and unwound and cooperating with the holding means to set the holding means to its locked position when the spring has been wound to a predetermined diameter.

5. In a trolley retriever for lowering a trolley pole the combination of a casing, a spring-driven rope-winding reel, a spring having one end connected to the casing, an intermediate member connecting the other end of the spring to the reel, holding mechanism to lock the intermediate member against rotation by the spring, a centrifugally operated dog on the reel to interlock with the reel and lock the reel and intermediate member together for unitary rotation and to release the holding mechanism and permit the intermediate member and reel to be rotated by the spring, means on the holding mechanism to engage with the dog to prevent the disengagement of the dog from the intermediate member until the spring is in a fully wound condition and control mechanism associated with' and cooperating with the spring and the holding mechanism to control the tensioning of the spring and the looking of the intermediate member to the casing, the last said mechanism including means to engage with the peripheral surface of the spring and also mechanism to engage the holding means whereby the holding mechanism will be tripped to its locking position only when the spring has 

